


You and I

by MinMaxie



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect - Various Authors, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Control Ending, Drinking, Drunken Confessions, Drunkenness, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Inspired by Music, Lost Love, Post-Mass Effect 3, Post-War, Singing, Walk Into A Bar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 22:07:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11450019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinMaxie/pseuds/MinMaxie
Summary: Two years after the war ended with a flash of blue, Garrus suffers through the anniversary.  To cheer him up, his new second-in-command takes Garrus to a bar where a Lady Gaga cover band is playing.  He says their lead singer is human...and hot.





	You and I

His shift ended that night at sunset, the same as it always did, but tonight he didn't call his usual shuttle but instead turned and mindlessly walked down the road. 

The reconstruction project was enormous and taxing.  Difficult decisions were the norm, bit the weight of his actions weren't what was bothering him tonight.  Today was the second anniversary of the Battle of New London, but no one on Palaven seemed to notice. 

To be fair, today they were celebrating the galaxy's new Freedom Day: The day the Reapers left.  Spirits were high and the streets were bustling with citizens of all ranks, decked out in bright blue, screaming and drinking like the vids he'd seen of Earth's Mardi Gras.  There were a few patrons with sorrowful looks, most likely people who had lost friends or family, but they were mostly hiding their pain under a thick layer of drunkenness.

Out of habit, and maybe a touch of sentiment, this morning he had chosen to wear the same set of black and gold armor he had worn during that famous battle.  Shepard had gotten it for him after his last set was destroyed on Omega - and it was far from cheap - but he had forgotten about the images in the news vids until someone stopped him on the street.

"Hey!  You're Garrus Vakarian!  You were there!  Part of Shepard's crew!  Spirits man!  You're a legend!"

Garrus tried to shrug him off, but it was too late.  In seconds, he was swarmed by a crowd of people raising drinks and shaking his hand.  A few asked for autographs or photos, and he obligated for a while until, gratefully, Xerees showed up and shut them down.

"People of Cipritine please," he began loudly, "Today means something very different to veterans of the Great War.  Show your respect by giving them all a little space today."  
The energy drained almost immediately and everyone in earshot quieted down with a sad look of understanding.

"It's ok Xerees, you didn't have to kill the party on my behalf.  They deserve to celebrate..."

"And YOU deserve to mourn in peace Garrus, " he ordered with an authoritative dip of his head.  Garrus adjusted his cowl with a quiet trill of reluctant acceptance and Xerees responded with a playful trill of his own. "Come on, let's hit the bar."

The white faced Turian almost ten years his junior had been his second-in-command since he returned home and got promoted.  At first, Xerees made Garrus uncomfortable, a living reminder of how old he was getting and what his career could have been if he had never left the military for C-Sec... but then he never would have met Shepard, and she was perfect. 

Strong, smart, fearless, expert marksmanship, his closest friend, and hot as all holy hell.  Sure, she was human, but it didn't matter at all.  Their relationship was one of those mythical, once in a cycle, never-should-have-worked-but-Spirits-did-it-ever kind of things most people only see in a vid.  At the start, she was just a Commander and a Spector, but before long she became his mentor... then his teammate, then his ally, then his friend and one day, before he even knew what was happening, they were naked and rolling in bed.   Spirits, their second to last conversation was about retirement and having kids together!

Then, on the page right before "happily ever after," she died. 

Just like that.

Sure, the galaxy was saved from total annihilation, but...  
 

He should have never gotten on that shuttle.  Even if he didn't make it all the way to the Crucible, at least he wouldn't have to live in a world that felt so prodigiously empty.  
 

If he was being honest, Xerees is probably the reason he hadn't blown his own head off yet.  Work kept him reasonably busy, but losing the love of your life _and_ your best/only friend?  There didn't exist and amount of work that can bury that much grief.  Xerees would, obviously, never replace Shepard, but a good friend you can count on is all it takes sometimes.  
 

The two of them walked down the road for about a block, nodding to the occasional well-wisher, before Garrus broke the silence with a raised brow plate.  "Word travels fast..." 

Xerees chirped a laugh.  "Turians follow orders very well.  Even the civvies."  He turned around and walked backwards for a bit, giving Garrus an odd look while his mandibles flicked into an amused grin.  Then he tipped his expression towards Garrus's forehead.  "Do that again."

"Do... what again?" his brow plate rose up, higher this time, to indicate confusion before he realized his mistake and Xerees threw his head back laughing.

"Spirits, THAT!" he managed to choke out.  "Damn Vakarian, were you raised by humans or what?" 

Garrus growled through clenched teeth, but his subharmonics gave away his amusement.  Xerees' brand of humor was off putting to some, but it reminded Garrus of Shepard's sarcasm and welcomed it with open arms. 

"Tell you what, _human_ ," his XO said while clapping him on the back.  "I know where we should go.  There's a live band playing at that bar named 'Spirits'.  It's right down the road here and their lead singer is HOT!" 

Garrus huffed through his mandibles at his friend's youth, but that stark white face leaned in close to his as if to rub it in.

"Aaand, she's human!  Just the way you like em, right?" 

Now, that, struck a nerve. 

Garrus pushed him off.  "Stop, right there. Were you not the one just giving that crowd an earful about respect?  Something about letting an old man grieve in peace?" 

"Yeah."  He was completely unfazed.  "But you haven't gotten any in, what, two YEARS now??  Do us ALL a favor and loosen up a little!  Uh, I mean... could you try?  Please? ... Sir."

Xerees had clearly received the subharmonic message his boss was sending him.  It was about as subtle as an oncoming freight train and implied, strongly, that if Xerees continued this topic of conversation Garrus would actually, physically, bite this fledgling's head off.

Another block of awkward silence passed before Garrus started to feel a little guilty.  He knew that Xerees was just trying to cheer him up, but the longer he spent sober and without work to do, the harder it got to forget about Shepard.  Everyone around him remembered that day fondly.  They danced around with ceremonial blue face paint and costumes to celebrate the bright, wave of light that saved them all from certain doom.  But to Garrus, it was the day he lost the one woman he ever really loved.  He shouldn't have left, he should have died right there under that tank like he was supposed to.  He shouldn't even be here right now…  
That, or she should be.

He twisted his foot slightly inside of his boot and felt the bottom of a concealed knife pocket, though he hadn't carried a knife in it for two years now.  Instead, it held a memento he found in the rubble of that terrible day. 

He remembered diving through a window of a store front to dodge a grenade blast, it was one of the brief moments he was forced to leave her side.  Dust and hot rocks flew into his face like a sandstorm and it took a full minute to regain his sight.  However, the first thing he saw as he peeled his dry eyes open was a glint of moonshine shining off a crystallized drop of blood.  Or, at least, it appeared to be blood.  A shift of his toe uncovered the object and a circle of silver metal hooked on the point of his boot.  Upon further inspection, he recognized it as a piece of human jewelry they sometimes wore on their hands, but in the center of it was a large, blood red stone the exact shade of Shepard's hair.  It felt as if the last kind Spirit in the galaxy had left it there just for him to find, and he knew it immediately.  He threw the metal wrapped ring in his pocket when he heard is Commander call for him, but for the rest of the night he fought with renewed vigor.

That is... until the very end.

Why he continued to hold onto it was anyone's guess, but perhaps it was a symbol.  A physical manifestation of the tiny flame of hope he kept hidden away from the rest of the world.  
  
 

"Wake up, sir.  We're here."  
Garrus hadn't even realized that he was in a trance until Xerees put a hand on his cowl to stop him from walking right past the bar.  
"Yes, " he answered a little too strongly.  "Drinks sound fantastic."

Spirits was one of the smaller bars in Cipritine, but it was a comforting and familiar none the less.  The larger clubs he used to visit had become filled with kids Xerees' age and it felt a bit dirty to go to them now.  Besides, his leg never healed quite right, so his dancing days were over anyway.

"I'd still tango with her though..."  
"You say something?"  
"Oh!  Uh... No.  Lead the way."  
Xerees raised a brow plate feebly.  "Am I doing it right?"  
"Shut up and walk!" Garrus shoved Xerees's cowl and they both almost tripped through the doors.

   
He wasn't kidding about the life band.  Four aliens were standing on a low stage in the back-center of the room, a dance floor at their feet, and a long, brightly lit bar on each side.  The high ceilings made for great acoustics so it was fairly common to see new bands from all over set up for a night and play.  Ever since the temporary, galaxy-wide stranding that occurred after the mass relays broke, it had become normal to see people of all species on just about every planet, and tonight was no different.  At the moment, the lead singer was almost screaming out an asari pop song, but she sounded human like Xerees said.  Garrus stretched his neck in an attempt to see the woman, but the crowd on the dance floor was too dense.  
 

"Checking her out already?"  A large hand clapped on his opposite shoulder.

"No," Garrus replied plainly.  "I've just never seen a human singing in Asari before."

Xerees threw his head back in laughter.  "Get used to it 'Old man'," he yelled over the music with a nudge.  "They were here last night.  Really good!" 

Garrus rolled his eyes and had a seat at the bar.  Xerees held out his fingers and before long slid him an ice-cold glass of something green.

"Will you get mad at me if I beg you to drink that, sir?" His words were meant to be mocking, but his subharmonics implied a hint of truth, hopefulness, and a touch of fear.

"Didn't you hear?" Garrus yelled back.  "Turians don't beg."

"They don't?"

"That's what the humans in my old crew said."

"Well then, I won't prove them wrong tonight!"

The two men touched glasses and threw back their drinks in one shot.

 

Time seemed to stretch, almost slow as they joked, drank, and nodded their heads to the lively beat.

Xerees craned his neck towards the stage.  "Who knew Krogan were so good at drumming?"

"Are you serious?" Garrus mockingly slurred.  "You're asking if KROGAN know how to hit things?"

"No, yeah, I mean… Rhythmically though?"

Garrus shook his head and waved a tipsy hand in front of him.  "Have you even been to Tuchanka?  Drums are the only instruments they have left!"

"No sir.  They gave all the interesting missions to you!"

Garrus was about to say something, but then the band started planning an opening rhythm that made his jaw hit the floor. 

 

_Mum mum mum mah_

 Xerees probably said something, but Garrus's mind was already gone.

 

_Mum mum mum mah…_

 He almost stood on his stool trying to see the band.

 

_Mum mum mum maa..._

_"I wanna hold em like they do in Texas please…"_

 "Hey!  What are you doing Garrus?!"

 

_"Fold em let em hit me baby stay with me..."_

_.. I love it._

 "I KNOW THIS SONG!"

_"Love Game intuition play the cards with spades to start..._

  
"Poker face...." he breathed, a thought too loud to stay silent.

_  
... And after he's been hooked I'll play the one that's on his heart!"_

"Poker What??"

"POKER FACE! Shepard used to listen to it."

_"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh_

_"I'll get him hot, show him what I've got."_

"Is it new?"

_"Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh-oh-e-oh-oh-oh"_

  
"It's almost two hundred years old.  Most humans don't even know it!"

_"I'll get him hot, show him what I've got…"_

  
With a heavy thump of bass, Garrus finally caught a decent view of the singer.  She was tall, for a human, very slender and had silver hair that flowed over her back like liquid mercury, save the streaks of blue powder that she rubbed on to celebrate.

 _"Can't read my,"_  
_"Can't read my"  
_ _"No he can't read my poker face!"_

"Huh, guess you were right..."

Garrus wasn't looking at him, only trying to see the singer's face.

"So?  What's your point Vakarian?"

Garrus's mandibles pinched closed.  To be honest, he didn't know if he had a point.  Did he seriously think this song was so niche that only Shepard knew it?  That seemed unfair.

He was about to sit back down when the singer turned around slightly and he _almost_ thought she looked at him.

_"P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face…"_

  
Streaks of blue spread across her cheeks like greasepaint and her eyes shown blue as bright as his own.  She had a striking fierceness about her, as if this bar was her battlefield and her words were her weapons.

_  
"P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face…"_

  
A thigh-length, pearlescent, blue and silver dress, possibly of Asari-Turian design, swung wide around her shoulders in a structured, almost carapace type shape, but quickly snapped in to hug her curves.  There were even little cut outs on each side to expose pieces of her tiny, almost corset-trained waist, which had become a very popular look among human women since the war.

(Garrus didn't know why or how they were getting so narrow waisted, but the fashion trend was everywhere these days.  It seemed odd and looked potentially painful, but he certainly wasn't going to complain with the results.)

The shoulders of the singer's shimmering dress and small sections of her different length gloves donned metal, almost sculptural accent pieces and her tall-heeled boots sported viciously pointed toes.  It was obvious that she dressed for a Turian-heavy crowd and she wanted them to notice her.  It was working.

However, the woman's looks weren't what fascinated Garrus.  It was the way she _moved_.  Fluid and easy as if commanding people's attention was the natural thing in the world.  Anyone caught looking into her icy, trap like eyes was either frozen in place or forced to look away embarrassed.  There wasn't a single hint of fear in her.  This bar was hers, this stage was hers, and she embraced the screaming masses like they were her birthright.

He tipped his head over at Xerees.

"My point is…"

_"P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face…"_

"…Your human singer has my attention."

_"I wanna roll with him a hard pair we will be…"_

"FINALLY!  Oh Spirits, thank you!"  
Xerees downed his beverage as if it was some sacred ritual, further playing up his half-mocking half-genuine prayer, then made a gesture above his head to make two more drinks appear.  Garrus quickly finished his previous one before the barkeep reached to clear it.

 _"A little gambling is fun when you're with me…"  
_ _"... I love it."_

 

A combination of events including a bottle of liquor and an Elcor leaving opened up a new viewing angle of the stage via the mirrored backsplash behind the bar.  Now the band was on full display.  The Krogan on the drums was (rather shockingly) female, and two Asari were on the human vocalist's flanks, one playing strings, the other taping buttons on a wide, freestanding console.  Garrus watched them, completely fascinated.  He'd rather fight a whole nest of thresher maws then stand on a stage, but these four women preformed like they were born up there.

_"Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun…"_

  
Then, without missing a beat, the human woman turned and locked eyes with him through the bar mirror.

_  
"And baby when it's love, if it's not ROUGH it isn't fun!"_

  
Time stopped in its tracks.  Garrus's brain ceased all function.  If someone had asked his name, surely, he wouldn't have known it.

The way she curled her lip with her verse, twitched a thin brow to drive home the meaning, accentuated the word "rough", and mimed a large bite with her wide, white, band of short teeth to punctuate her sentence…

He'd seen it all before in a memory so good to could almost be confused with a dream. 

~~~

"Shepard!  I'm sorry!  I'm so sorry!  I didn't know you were back yet.... or here... or behind me... Why are you laughing??"  
"SOOO many reasons.  Oh my GOD, you don't even know...."  
"Spirits you're concussed aren't you.  I'll call Dr. Ch-"  
"No!  No, please I'm fine.  Just bumped the armrest during landing.  Thanks for aiming for the couch though!  The floor would have been _way_ worse."  
  
"This is wrong.  This is all wrong…  Shepard, you spooked me and I threw you across the room!"  
"Yeah you did!  One handed too!"  
  
"Why are you smiling??  Are you happy that we have to stop seeing each other?"  
"WHAT??  Wait!  You're leaving?  _Why??_ "  
"I sent you flying through the air like a pulled grenade!  On accident!  Shepard, I..... I don't want to hurt you."  
"But you DIDN'T!  See??  I'm fine!"  
"Yeah, _this_ time..."  
  
"Hey, you.... Wanna know a secret?"  
"Hmm?"  
"I thought that was crazy hot."  
  
"You can't be serious..."  
"I am! .... Do it again."  
"What?? No!!"

"How did that old song go?  'Russian Roulette is not the same without a gun... and baby when it's love if it's not ROUGH it isn't fun'!"

"Did... you just fake bite at me?"

"Uh huh. Whatcha gonna do about it, tough guy?"

"I.... huh.  Well, when you put it that way..."

~~~ 

_And that's the night I found out Shepard was WAY more Turian than I previously gave her credit for..._

  
A sudden, painful tightness in his codpiece and a drunken clack of laughter woke him back up.

"Look at you!  Admiral Grumpy with his head in the gutter!  HA!  I _told_ you she was hot!"

Garrus didn't reply.  He just sipped his drink and kept watching the singer's reflection with a hungry, more than slightly drunken stare.

Maybe that's the way this song was supposed to be performed... Or maybe this girl could growl and scream the same way Shepard could.  Either way, he intended to find out.

Xerees kept drinking and used Garrus's misery as an excuse to chat up the 20-something, pink and black plated barkeep.  They were both mocking him, but he didn't care.  They wouldn't be laughing after he dragged this shiny, silvery, face-painted human into a bathroom stall by her hair later - an image that was starting to look very, _very_ appealing.

_"P-p-p-poker face, p-p-poker face._

_Mum mum mum maaahhh...."_

 

  
The crowd cheered and the band began again.  A familiar, classic Turian tune this time.  It had a interesting, modernized feel to it, thanks to the asari on the console, and Garrus caught most of the Turian crowd tapping along in different ways.  Once again, Xerees broke the silence.

"Look at that!" he said with a nudge.  "She can sing in Turian too!"

The female barkeep cut in with ditzy sarcasm. "I mean... sort of.  They're clearly adding in the sub vocals electronically."

Garrus's armor made a loud crashing sound as he slumped onto the counter, head tilted, words almost slurring as he spat back. 

"Wow, really??  Do you really think so??  Spirits!  I'm shocked!"

"Hey, woah, dial it back buddy." Xerees started rubbing the back of his carapace.  It felt nice.  Even in armor.  He relaxed his chin on his crossed arms as his eyes started to close.

"There you go.   No one's trying to dishonor the future Mrs. Vakarian..."  His hand snapped back as if his back was suddenly a hot stove.  "Whoa!  Wait, are you… _purring??_ "

He was.

  
"She's.... pretty."

See, now, those were supposed to be inside words, but a gizzard full of green stuff had turned them into outside words.

People noticed... especially his XO, who almost fell off his chair.  
 

"WOW!!  I never thought I'd see the day... The legendary Admiral, Garrus Vakarian everybody!  Stopped Saren, destroyed Cerberus, fought off the Reapers, and get reduced to a puddle of mush by a pretty girl.  Way to do our people proud, sir!" 

The whole bar must have laughed at him, openly, for a solid forty seconds.  But that's the beauty of being old and dead inside, you stop giving a damn about that kind of thing.  That's when, once again, the wise words of his former Commander came swirling back around.

_"Remember Garrus, the only way to get out of an embarrassing situation is the look them dead in the eyes and double down.  Nine times out of ten, they crack before you do."_

His mandibles flicked into a smug smile as he sat up and gave his young friend a calm stare.

"See, that's the difference between you and me Xerees.  You can make the jokes, but I actually have a chance at taking her home."

"Oh yeah?" burped the large Krogan in the next seat.  Garrus didn't even realize he was there.  "What makes you so sure?"

  
Garrus drunkenly tilted his head to face his new neighbor and glanced into the mirror, everyone in earshot actually seemed to be waiting for an answer.  Then it hit him, he might be the only non-human male in this bar who's ever slept with a human woman.  It felt oddly... satisfying?  Close enough.

"Well," he began, sitting up a little straighter.  "First, let's take my fame and fortune out of it.  Just to be fair."  He had to hold in his chuckle at the widespread, inter-species eye roll.

"Sure, whatever… Grampa." 

Oh, if that hadn't been Xerees, those words would have started a bar fight.

"I am thirty-fucking-two!  Call me old again and I'll court martial you!  Mutiny!"

Xerees hand to pinch in every single plate of his face to hold back the laugh.

"ANYWAY!"  Garrus continued, a bit annoyed. "First of all, she's single because there's no ring on her second-left finger.  Like, 99% of humans who are bonded have those.  Worst case, she's dating someone, but it's obviously not final so who cares."

A few people around him seemed to nod, but no one said anything.  So, he kept going.

"Second!  Sorry Krogan, Elcor, Salarian, and whatever-the-heck-the-Shadow-Broker-was-I-forget, you're out.  Not physically compatible, can't happen."

The Krogan seemed offended by that.   
Wonder why?

"What do you mean, 'out', turian?  How do you know?" Garrus could not stop his drunk grin.

"Because... I've actually _BEEN_ with a human woman before.  Many, many times!  Slept in her bed every single night, and I'm telling you, that, unless your quad is a hellova lot smaller than the ones in clan Urdnot, it's NOT gonna fit.  You'll kill her."

The look on that Krogan's face was one Garrus would never, ever forget.  The poor guy was trapped between admitting a turian was right, therefore forfeiting the girl, and confessing, in public, that he had a tiny dick.  While he struggled with himself, Garrus kept his impromptu lesson going.

"Third, look at her.  That outfit screams Turian sex appeal, which she wouldn't have worn if she wasn't interested.  Sure, she's on Palaven, but she could have worn something that normally appeals to humans and been fine.  It's bait.  Reeling in the people she wants and excluding the ones she doesn't.  Clever really...."

"How do you know how big the quads of Clan Urdnot are!  You lookin'?"  
 

Garrus raised a drunk brow plate.  "Still on that, huh?  Well, to be fair, I've only seen two.  One was Urdnot Wrex because we shared living space during the hunt for Saren and he's not exactly… modest.   And the other was Urdnot Grunt, who I helped release from his tank and fought for during his Rite as part of his Krant."

Garrus looked over at the floor for a second and twitched a weak smile.  "In hindsight, he was kind of like an adopted son.  To Commander Shepard that is.  She was his Battlemaster.  I just helped."

Xerees let out a tiny sound that had a hint of pity in it.  Garrus chose to ignore it.

"So.... yeah.  That's how I know.  Didn't choose it, but you know what they say.  War is Hell."  
   
The Krogan slammed a fist on the bar and left, which left provided a great place for Garrus to stretch his legs out.  
  
 

"How do you know she's not into other women or Asari?" a previously quiet, red-ish turian asked near his feet. 

He thought about it for a second, looked back at the woman in question, then back to the turian.

"I don't," he chirped plainly.  "But probably. Yeah." 

The red turian trilled a confused question, so did Xerees and the barkeep.  Garrus smugly stretched his arms above his head before turning back to the bar.  "What?  Hasn't stopped me before.  Sh-um-my old girlfriend was a lesbian, but she asked me out!  It's just a chance you have to take."

The unknown turian tipped his glass, conceding the point, and went back to drinking quietly.  
  
 

"Last call," the barkeep clicked matter-of-factly, and all three turians ordered another round.  When she returned, she stood there for a second before blurting out, "So why do _YOU_ think you have a chance?" 

Xerees almost spit his drink, so did Garrus.  They both men thought the young women was avoiding their "Man Talk" like a plague.   Garrus held out a finger while he forced the liquid down. 

"Ugh... Why me?  Really?" 

The girl crossed her arms and nodded curtly, a bit disgusted by her own curiosity.  He grinned and threw his arms out.

"Because I'm Garrus-fucking-Vakarian!  That's why!" 

She and Xerees both groaned and the barkeep turned to leave to close tabs, but shouted one last thing. 

"Well, you and your giant, drunken ego had better get moving.  They're about to wrap up."

 Garrus face made a shaken double-take.  "Really?  Oh shi-"

 

"Thank you Spirits!  Unfortunately, we've only got time for one more song tonight and we're gonna end with one of my favorites.  It's another old Earth song about lost love, but... It's the best way we know to make sure no one goes home alone!  So grab that person you've been staring at all night, and thank us later! "

The whole bar roared in agreement and glasses hit the bars like thunder as the lights dimmed.   
  
  
As they came back up, a single spotlight faded in on the sparkling woman who had taken a seat on a stool with another one beside her acting as a table.  On it balanced a single, clear glass of brown liquid that had been neatly poured over a sphere of ice that was just starting to glisten.  From behind her perch, the singer pulled out a device that Garrus had never seen before.  It looked like the string instrument one of the asari was playing earlier, but slightly bigger and made of wood.

"For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of visiting my native planet, this is called an acoustic guitar.  No cords, no batteries, no mass effect fields... just a wooden box and a few strings.  Almost everyone one in my home town knew how to play it, and it used to be a staple in bars like this.  So, tonight, I hope y'all will humor my nostalgia."

Her voice.  Her normal speaking voice.  It hit Garrus between the eyes like a bullet.  He was almost completely wasted now, but still.... he knew that voice.  He KNEW it, but couldn't clear the fog enough to place it.

 

The band started playing slowly and methodically with a subtle beat, just enough to keep tempo and accent the mellow, genuine-sounding chords that resonated from the human's guitar.  It brought the once rowdy crowd to the brink of tears, and Garrus believed it was one of the most beautiful sounds he'd ever heard.

Then the woman started to sing, but not in the screaming, chaotic way of before.  It was solemn, heartfelt, almost tragic to hear and the artificial subharmonics of the building's slight echo only further pronounced those undertones.  The words she sang obviously held deep, personal meaning to her and the fading smile of a tired, experienced entertainer was the only thing holding in the woman's tears. 

If Garrus's own lonely heart could sing, he imagined this is what it would sound like. 

 

 _"It’s been a long time since I came around,_  
_Been a long time but I’m back in town,_  
_This time I’m not leavin' without you... "_

 

She looked smaller now, almost humble... save the menacingly sharp boot that tapped with the beat.

 

 _"You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, oh..._  
_I'd give anything again to be your baby doll.  
_ _This time I’m not leavin' with-out you."_

  
Garrus abandoned his almost empty drink and turned around in his seat to watch.

 

 _"He said, Sit back down where you belong,_  
_In the corner of the bar with your high heels on."_  
_"Sit back down on the couch where we,_  
_Made love the first time and you said to me, There's... "_

 

Couch?  Wait...

 

_"Something, something about this place.. "_

  
The woman looked around the room with a smile and Garrus caught her glance at the same spot in the bar mirror.  Twice.

_  
"Something, ‘bout lonely nights,_

_And my lipstick on your face..."_

  
Her eyes closed and she almost whispered her words as if she was trying to will herself back into an old memory.  
 

_"Something, something about_

_My cool Dextro guy... "_

 

Huh?

 

_"Yeah, there's something about,_

_Baby, you and I."_

 

Ok, Garrus was no scholar of Human History, but he sincerely doubted that they had written "Dextro" into the original lyrics...but it fit, so...

  
"It’s been two years since I let you go,  
_I couldn’t listen to a joke or Rock and Roll._  
_Widowed guns put a SHOT right through my heart... "_

  
Garrus was off his stool and halfway to the dance floor.

  
"On my birthday you gave me a heart of gold,  
_With that deep, sweet humming and nooo clothes."_  
_This time I’m not leaving WITH-OUT YOU!"_  
_"Oh oh oh!  Oh oh oh no!"_

 _"Sit back down where you belong_  
_In the corner of my bar with your high heels on!"_  
_"Sit back down on the couch where we,_  
_Made love the first time and you said to me…_  
_There’s, There's something, something about this place."_

  
She looked around the bar again, but at the same spot in the mirror and (roughly) where he was sitting before.  Her face seemed to fall a little.

_  
"Something, ‘bout lonely nights,_

_... And my lipstick on your face... "_

  
 The backup singers filled in for a word or two while the woman took a sip from the iced glass and continued with renewed force.

 _".. 'thing About my cool Dextro guy._  
_Yeah, there's something about..._  
_Baby, you and I. "_

  
Deep breath.

_  
"You and I"_

_"You, you and I"_

_"You, you and I"_

_"You, you and I, I, I, I!"_

With pinched closed eyes, the woman was belting out her words with a kind of layered tone he'd never heard a human make at that volume.  One thing was certain:  If she were turian, her subvocals would have been sobbing.

 _"You and I!"_  
_"You, you and I!"_  
_"Oh yeah, I'd rather die!"  
__"Without you and I...._ Come on!"

"Put your drinks up!"

  
She raised the dripping glass high above her head and the bar patrons followed suit.  The band behind her continued playing while she opened her throat wide and the brown liquid disappeared.  Garrus had only seen one other woman, of any species, take that much alcohol in one gulp without any reaction whatsoever.  Two human men in the crowd beside him nudged each other with a wide-eyed expression Garrus had come to know as the way humans conveyed being shocked and more than a little impressed.

"I know," the nudged said to the nudger.  "Girl's got some pipes!"  They raised their cups to her in a gesture of respect, touched them together, then drank in unison.  Garrus was too drunk and entranced to make any noise, but the men made an impression regardless.  Apparently, the sounds coming out of this woman were very difficult for humans to make.  Or maybe they were impressed by her drinking habits?  Either way, he gained another level of respect for the silver-haired singer he still wanted to bed so badly.

However, the next verse sent (probably) two years of stored adrenaline screaming through him in a dizzying rush the likes of which he had never felt before.

 

 _"We got a whole lot of money, but we still pay rent,_  
_Cause you can't buy a house in Heaven yet!_  
_There's only three things that I'mma serve for my whole life:_  
_It's the Alliance, and the Spirits, and a C-Sec man  ...Yeah. "_

Garrus was pushing past people in a slow, but heart pounding rush to get closer to the stage.

_"Something, something about the chase..."_

She looked directly at his old bar seat.

"...six whole years..."

The beat of a Krogan powered bass drum seemed to snap her out of the soon-to-be trance and she started back up with a louder, more guttural voice than ever flying out of wide mouth as long strands liquid silver hair flew around her shaking head.

 _"Earth-clan woman, born to hunt you down,_  
_And rub my lipstick all over your face!!"_

 _"Something, something about,_  
_Just knowing when it's right... "_

She slowly raised her, almost magically, refilled glass up to the crowd again.

 _"So put your drinks up, for an Angel..."  
__For my Angel,_ Archangel, I love you!!"

Small sip. Glass down.

_"You and I!!"_

  
Garrus was wild eyed and could barely hear her over the thundering sound of his heart in his ears.  Less casually than before, he shoved every single person out of his way until he was right in front of the stage, but still out of her sight. 

 _"You, you and I!"_  
 

Obscured by the harsh brightness of the spotlight, he shook himself as sober as he could and looked directly at the woman, studying her every feature as if cramming for a test.  If he was wrong, he could never show his face in this bar again.  But… if he was right...  
 

 _"Baby, I'd rather die,_  
_Without you and I, I!"  
_

  
This was the hallucination of a heartbroken drunk.  It had to be.  It was the Spirits way of punishing him for holding onto such childish hopes…

_  
"You and I!"_

  
Garrus dared to take the half step forward to enter her vision.  Her face was maybe a meter or two above his because of the height of the stage and her stool.  He was close enough to hear the real sound of her instrument without the aid of microphones.

_  
"You, you and I!"_

  
He still didn't believe what he saw.  Trying to keep his shaking to a minimum, he found the courage to ask,

 

"..... Shepard?"

 

The singer's eyes widened slightly and she slowly turned towards him, all the while strumming her guitar in perfect rhythm.  The corners of her mouth curled up and he was hit point blank with the most dazzling smile he'd ever seen.  She slid off her stool, ripped off her wig, and shook out a head of short red hair while screaming.  
 

 _**"Angel!  I'd rather die!"** _  
_**"Without you and I, I, I!!"** _

**_"SHEPARD!!"_**  

  
Legs buckled.

Knee guards cracked on the floor.

Desperate arms wrapped around her ankles and a giant, metal head fell at her feet.

If it weren't for the sounds coming from the other instruments, everyone would have heard the stage rattle from his almost violent, trembling, rolling sobs.  Although, it might have made a cymbal chime. 

The band continued the melody without her as the woman put away her strings and knelt down to stroke his neck before gently removing the visor from his face.  It was her!  It was really her!  Her soft touch, her salty smell, the way she always remembered to remove his visor so he didn't break it in his sleep...  
 

He dared to look up.

This wasn't a dream.

Shepard was alive!  Alive and here!

She opened her mouth to speak, but Garrus shook his head, reached into his boot, thrust that blood red stone into her hands, and closed them with his own.

"Shepard.   _Please_....marry me."  
  
She almost blinded him with the biggest smile he'd ever seen, even as a single tear rolled down her cheek.  She slipped one hand out of his grasp, caressed the side of his face, then brought their heads together while cooing her last verse right to him.

  
  
"It's been a long time since I came around.

Been a long time, but I'm back in town... "

  
"And this time, I'm not leavin'... without you."

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Interesting factoid.  
> By the year 2184, the year Mass Effect 3 is set, the series will have just entered Public Domian. Same goes for all the music around that time. This assumes of course current Copywrite Law stays the same, but still.
> 
> So, the way I see it, feel free to use any music circa 2014 and before and before in your fictions. Odds are, the crew of the Normandy would be listening to it because it's free and widely available.


End file.
